7 Virtues Edited
by Robot Maddness Strikes
Summary: Kevin has spent four long years of his life trapped inside of this, this, thing. A mysterious being then appears, offering him all he could possibly dream of. All he has to do is follow her rules, all of them. Gwevin fic. Edited version of another story.
1. Diligence

Stage 1: Diligence

A/N: So, this is my first Ben 10 fan fic. I really hope you like it! I've been toying with the idea for a while now, and I finally got around to writing it! Please R&R with your responses! And sorry its so long! I can't really break it up into smaller chapters. It would defeat the layout of the story : (

A/N 2.0: THIS IS THE NEW VERSION! THERE IS A REASON IT SAYS 2.0 on the title! This one is basically the same as the other one with a few smaller details because it was annoying me highly.

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Stage 1: Diligence

**Definition:** Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

"Diligence is the mother of good fortune." Benjamin Disreaeli

--

Swiftly the mutant ran through the forest. Nimbly he dodged trees and boulders with surprising ease. The wind blew past his warped features and threw his black, tangled locks of hair out of his eyes. It was what he had been doing for the past few hours. Simply running.

He was stubbornly trying to ignore the reason _why_ he was running. _Why_ his heart had started racing, and _why_ his blood was suddenly pumping like crazy through his veins.

It had crept upon him slowly. Silently. Stalking him. It was as if it had simply been waiting in the shadows the whole time. Waiting in the wings for him to slip up. For him to remember.

And that was when he had begun running. Though he tried to never admit the reason why. He would say it was simply he was fond of running if someone had seen him. Not that anyone would see him. And not that they would care enough to ask.

In reality, one reason was to get away. To forget the pain. To try to avoid the hate. The constant hate that circled his life at all times. His hatred for himself, his hatred for the world, and the hatred he felt from those around him. And so he was running.

Stubbornly the mutant hoped and prayed that for once he would tire of running, that the panting that was usually inevitable in most beings after a long run would begin to tire him out. Hoping that the pain in his side he remembered so well from seemingly _happier_ days would strike him suddenly, reminding him that he wasn't that different from those around him.

That he was human like them.

But of course, the pain never came. It never came when he was running. Only when he was fighting. Of course, the monstrosity that was his moveable prison cell was surprisingly built for running. His lungs were huge, as was his heart so oxygen was never a problem, and his surprising bulk was only the mass of muscle. His bones were as strong as cement it seemed, but hollow. He was graceful for something so horrible and unsymmetrical.

Of course, even after four years of learning how to maneuver in the hulking mass, the mutant still slipped up every once in a while. He felt his foot catch on a stone and he tumbled to the ground, crashing into a tree nearby. There was a resonating _crack_ and the lowest limb fell and landed on his shoulder. He barely felt it though, and he doubted it would even bruise the red flesh.

With a sigh the creature laid his head back against the tree trunk and looked up at the stars through a small clearing in the leaves. There was no point in denying it anymore. No point in denying the reason he was running so quickly away from wherever it was he had been.

Today was his birthday. He had survived fifteen years. Fifteen long years of torture and pain. Of loss and humiliation. In which four of them consisted of him being trapped in this- this thing. The mutant refused to call it his body. But it would occasionally slip into his thoughts. He always attempted to refer to the hulking mass as 'it'. Because that was what it was. Not him, but some strange, horrible thing that had entangled itself around his DNA. Some terrible demon that had plagued his life for four long years.

This thing could run for days on end. The mutant had found that out the hard way. He could not be exhausted, could not be drowned, could not be shot, and could not be killed. There was no way to end the pain that he suffered it seemed.

_Kevin_.

A small, jolly voice called out in his mind as he looked on the galaxies moving by. He ignored it and shoved it to the back of his mind.

_Kevin, listen to me_.

The voice seemed to be more commanding this time, despite the laughter that laced its words. A strained giggle escaped the mutant's lips. He had often heard voices in his head. Madness had set in long ago. There was no escaping it, or so it seemed. Even so far away from the city it seemed to track him down.

_Kevin, you are not crazy_.

A barking laugh echoed through the silent trees.

"Not crazy am I?" Its voice was like a cacophony of animalistic shrieks and growls. It hurt his ears to listen to, even after so long, "I'm the one responding to a voice in my head."

_Kevin Levin. You are _not_ crazy_.

The voice was so forceful it put a frown on the mutant's face, distorting it even more. This voice was so much clearer than the others. So straight forward. Plus, it used a name that he had long ago attempted to bar from his memory. He never connected himself to that name, not even in his thoughts. It was linked to another person, another time.

_Kevin Levin. Are you ready for to change?_

The voice echoed in his ears for what seemed like an eternity. A deep growl resonated through its chest. He was growing tired of this voice. It wasn't kind and soothing like the others. It was jolly, and bell like. Piercing his dark thoughts with rays of light of painfully happy memories.

_Kevin Levin. Are you ready for a second chance?_

"Of course I am." The beast spat angrily, confused why he was continuing to respond. "I've been waiting my whole life for a second chance. Not that I would ever get one." It was becoming very aggravating that the voice was using his old name. It made him want to grind his teeth in frustration.

_Kevin Levin. Do you want your deepest desires to come true?_

"What does that mean?" He screamed suddenly, pounding his fist into the ground, leaving a deep indent in the grass.

_What would you do for not only a second chance at life, but for your deepest desires to come true?_

He had no idea what had possessed him, but suddenly a single tear leaked from his lower right eye. It sent a shock through his system. He hadn't cried for years, even before being trapped in this thing. He hadn't even been aware the _thing_ was capable of tears. And yet another, and another followed that, until it wasn't a single tear but a whole flood of them. It was as if he was drowning in sorrow.

_So… I'll take that for a yes._ The voice seemed to giggle.

"Yes." The mutant finally whispered, finding it hard to speak through the tears. "Yes. I'm ready. But what are you doing to me? What are these feelings I'm feeling?"

There was a long pause, and he almost thought that the voice wasn't going to respond to his question. And then there was a single whispered reply he could barely make out in his own mind over his crying.

_Kevin Levin. Look up, and see your salvation._

Slowly, ever so slowly, the mutant raised his eyes. And before him in the forest was… nothing. Nothing. He was completely alone, like he had thought. Completely alone.

_Or are you?_

There was a bright flash of light, forcing the mutant to shut his eyes. But he couldn't seem to escape the light. It riddled the body with pain, forcing him into seizures. And then suddenly it was over. And the end, seemed almost worse than the beginning. He was so tired. So, very tired. It was as if his very life force energy had been drained away. And then, just to top it off, the world seemed to go black.

-- -- --

The forest was gone when the mutant opened his eyes. Completely gone. As in, there wasn't a single blade of grass or stone left. No trees or boulders, no dark but warm night colors. Nothing. Or maybe it wasn't the forest that was completely gone, maybe he was gone. Maybe he had somehow found a way through that impenetrable thing that was his body and died. At last. But he couldn't remember having done anything…

_You are not dead, Kevin Levin_.

The voice made him jump up and look around. The mutant found he wasn't alone in the whiteness, in the madness.

There in the whiteness, barely a few feet away, stood the strangest person he had ever seen.

The mutant shook his head to clear it. The girl before him was so peculiar, was it possible she was real? Or just another figment of his imagination.

He couldn't seem to pin down exactly what the girl looked like, it was so disorientating. She seemed to be roughly around his age. Her skin seemed to never be one fixed color, fading from pitch black to the palest of pale and every other color in between, before starting the cycle over again. It was the same for her facial features. Her eye color never seemed to be one set color, and her mouth and nose seemed to change subtly every few seconds. The only set features were the girl's pale white hair, and rather pointed ears. But the rapid changing in appearance didn't hamper her strange beauty; the mystery of what she truly looked like only enticed the mutant even more.

The attire she wore was almost as peculiar as the girl herself, making the mutant blink. Over her white hair she wore a bright red hat, whose tip hung far down her back and was ended with a small silver bell that tinkled beautifully with the slightest movement. A bright green tunic long enough to be a dress wrapped snugly around her torso, hugging her curves tightly. A large brown belt with even more tinkling bells hung loosely around her hips.

His look of shock must have been what caused the being to chuckle. But it was strange, because it seemed to echo in his head just like her voice had.

_Like I said, Kevin Levin. You are far from dead._

"Who are you?" The mutant began to say, before jolting to a stop at the sound of his voice. It was soft and smooth, not shrill and painful to listen to. It was his voice. _His_ voice. Before the horrible accident. The tone was deeper than he remembered, but that was understandable. After all, he would just be hitting puberty in his human form if he remembered correctly.

Carefully, he lifted a hand to his mouth as if to feel the different vibrations coming from his mouth. His fingers gently touched his lips, and his body and mind froze completely. They were soft. Smooth. Not at all hard and crust like. And his fingers…

With a jolt he looked down at his body and almost let out a scream. He didn't see the hideous, red, swollen body he had gotten so used to. Now it looked like as if all those years had never happened. He seemed to be having one of those out of body moments he had heard others speak of, but never had imagined himself ever having.

He could completely see himself. The real him. The real_ Kevin_. Not that horrible_ thing_. But it was strange. It was him, but in some ways, not.

This Kevin seemed a good few years older than he remembered himself being. He had grown and finally seemed to fit into that gangly body he remembered having. His nose no longer seemed quite as big, but there was a noticeable hook to it.

_Are you quite done inspecting yourself?_

The boy didn't respond for a long moment as his eyes returned to his hands. Slowly this time, he ran his fingers over the soft, pink tinged flesh. He traced up his arm and felt the toned muscles that were his biceps. Those _definitely_ hadn't been there before the accident. Farther up his fingers brushed against his ratty old shirt. The filthy thing brushed softly against his skin. It was such a weird sensation after years of the to tight cotton chaffing against that monster's red hide. It felt as if he was a newborn, his flesh was so soft and smooth. The only thing that didn't seem to have changed was his hair, but it was no longer knotted and tangled but smooth and clean.

_Well?_ If the being's (Kevin had come to the conclusion long ago that it most certainly was _not_ a girl) voice wasn't so gosh darn cheery and jolly he would have sworn it sounded impatient.

Slowly, and _very_ carefully as if any quick moments would shatter this dream become reality, the boy nodded.

"Who are you?" The boy whispered, partially to ask the question and partially to hear his voice again.

The being smiled warmly at him, her large white teeth glimmering in the light that seemed to radiate from everywhere. _My name would take you years to pronounce correctly. So you may simply call me Francesca._

"Francesca?" He asked quietly, not really caring as he ran his hands over his arms and face in awe. "What did you do to me?"

_I gave you a second chance. A new start_.

That made the boy, Kevin, freeze. His eyes narrowed as his brain began to finally digest the situation. He had never heard those words with something positive coming after them. "What does that mean?'

The being's smile widened and a shiver ran down Kevin's spine. Suddenly he wasn't so sure about this miracle. _I am giving you a chance to have your body, and the possibilities of a life back._

"What's in it for you?" He asked suspiciously, his dark, earth colored eyes narrowed.

_Nothing that would be of interest to you_. She waved away the comment. _So do you accept my challenge? Are you ready to have your life back? To walk the streets as a normal person again? To have the body you would have had if fate had not struck out against you?_

"Yes, of course." The boy muttered. "I – I would do anything to stay this way."

The being smiled kindly at him and stepped forward to brush his cheek with her fingers. Her touch was like ice and sent another shiver up and down Kevin's body. _I promise you, what I am going to ask you to do will make everything better. It will be our little deal how about? Our little secret? And if you follow my directions, everything will end up swimmingly. _

"Oh yeah, perfectly." Kevin muttered, diverting his eyes. "Crazy alien being blackmails me into doing whatever she wants so that I can have exactly what I want. This is definitely not going to go down well."

The girl laughed openly in his mind, but her mouth never opened wider than a smile. _Such a charming little one. No wonder I felt such a pull to help you. But tell me young one… Kevin, do even you know what it is you deeply desire the most?_

The boy just stared at her confused. His thoughts were still jumbled slightly after the shock of it all. But a few things did click in place. "What kinds of things do you want me to do?"

_Simple. You will be given seven tasks to complete over the course of the next few years. They will be challenging, but I am sure you can complete them. And with flying colors._ She winked. _And when it is all over, your deepest desires will have been realized and fulfilled. Then you will never see my 'crazy alien' butt again._

"Ok, so what kind of things do you want me to do?" The suspicious glint never left the young teen's eyes as he slowly shifted to stand for the first time. He was a little wobbly at first, but he found that he quickly regained his balance.

_You will be given a word, an adjective, and then must strive to act in the way the word wishes you to. The first few will be obvious, but then after those you will have to search out in the world for them. _Her smile suddenly disappeared, and a frown crossed it and suddenly the whiteness around then dimmed and turned an ugly grey. _But I must warn you, as easy as it was to turn you to the form you have now, it is even simpler to transform you straight back._ There was a loud thunderclap and Kevin felt his body grow and expand back into the monstrosity. He let out a cry of desperation and instantly he felt the pressure release and he shrank in size. He fell panting to the ground as the area around him brightened again.

"So – so what is my first task?" He gasped.

_You've already completed it_. The being smirked. _You persevered through the torturous five years of being trapped within a body you had no wish to be in. Diligence was your first task. Your next, you will find out in time. _She snapped her fingers and the world went dark for a moment.

Kevin blinked his eyes slowly and found himself upon a city street again. He simply stood for a moment, taking it all in, letting it all seep into his body as happiness began to radiate out.

Slowly he walked out of the alley he was standing on the edge of and looked around. Suddenly something burst inside and he couldn't take it anymore. He began to run again. This time not from anger, or hate, but from joy. Joy at a second chance. Just a second chance many years to late.

_Remember our deal_. A passing happy thought seemed to giggle in his mind as he rushed off into the night.

--

A/N: So…. What did you guys think? To much on something? To long? Flames totally excepted, but I shall use them to roast wieners with.

P.S. Also, this was written at like, 11 at night and I was tired, so I am very sorry if it is just wack job weird. SORRRY!


	2. Temperance Part 1

Stage 2: Temperance

A/N: I decided as I was typing this that this portion takes part just a week or two after episode 4. You know; trying to fit this stuff in neatly really sucks. Maybe I'll just be like BAH humbug, forget the actually timelines and just go with mine for now. Actually, I like that. Do that.

A/N 2.0: So I detested this chapter with a PASSION of a million dieing suns so I rewrote it. Also I typed this during the Ben 10 marathon. –SQWOOT! - Oh life is so good. So I hope that the Gweniness of it all worked out as an inspiration.

Disclaimer: I TOTALLY FORGOT TO DO THIS IN THE LAST CHAPTER! Oo Ben 10 is not owned by me, myself, or I. But I'm not so sure aboot you. You might own it… -shifty eyes-

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Stage 2: Temperance

**Definition:** moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.

"Finish each day before you begin the next, and interpose a solid wall of sleep between the two. This you cannot do without **temperance**." Ralph Waldo Emerson

**Last Time On the 7 Virtues**:

Slowly he walked out of the alley he was standing on the edge of and looked around. Suddenly something burst inside and he couldn't take it anymore. He began to run again. This time not from anger, or hate, but from joy. Joy at a second chance. Just a second chance many years to late.

_Remember our deal_. A passing happy thought seemed to giggle in his mind as he rushed off into the night.

--

**1 Year Later**

Nighttime in the country is vastly different from that of the city. Cities, well, there's a reason they say the city never sleeps. Comparatively, there seem to be no similarities between the wide-open lands and the asphalt jungles. Compared to the countryside at night, the city is like some poor insomniac, occasionally falling relatively quiet before shooting awake a few hours later. In the summer, the difference is even more startling. The black, twinkling nights of the country is usually set to the soothing soundtrack of chirping crickets and the buzz of fireflies.

A tall, dark haired young man stood with his hands in his pockets as he looked around at the quiet field around him. He shivered slightly at the silence. It was so quiet. The young man looked up at the stars and pondered the silence. After living his whole life with the background noise of honking cars, shouting people, and the rumble of the subway the apparent stillness made him feel unnerved, anxious, almost twitchy. Not that he was actually _in_ the country. The small town of Bellwood was more of a cross between suburbia and Hicksville, USA. It was only about a twenty minuets drive from the nearest big city, but at the same time it was surrounded by acres of farm and forest.

In comparison to what the young man had grown up to though, it felt as if he had crash-landed in a scene from some demonic farm-based horror/science fiction flick.

"Why am I even here." Kevin groaned, his raven hair falling away from his face as he tilted his head even farther back, trying to see the whole dome like sky above him. It was still strange to see the pinpricks of lights seemingly hovering in the sky. Some quite literally _hovering_. As the boy watched he saw one glowing pinprick begin to move slowly, before suddenly disappearing into the night.

"Well, looks like we'll have something else to check out." Kevin muttered, rubbing his hands together for warmth. Despite the fact that he had a thick lamb leather jacket, along with two shirts of differentiating shades of grey, and a tight pair of jeans he was still freezing. What he wouldn't give right now to be in his nice, warm, well-furnished apartment on Main Street of the nearby city. To be curled up in his alpaca comforter with some nice, soothing rock music blaring from the surround sound speakers. To be able to sleep till 4 p.m. because of the tinted windows that kept the blinding sun at bay. Hey, spending a year being a true blue-blooded con does have its perks. If he really had the drive the kid could probably send himself to college. And bribe the deans to let him in without a proper education.

That was just an example of course though.

"When will that bastard get here?" He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he looked down from the stars to the land around him. In the distance he spotted an old barn, with peeling paint that showed the rusting metal underside. The corn plants in the field stood towering over his head. The young man just expected some evil demon to leap out and attempt to devour him.

Finally down the road the con spotted the glimmering lights of another car driving in his direction. Kevin pushed himself off the green camaro that had been supporting his body and stood beside the road. Slowly an old, rusty, smoking heap of junk rolled jumpily to a stop right in front of him. The windows were tinted, including the windshield.

The silence of the country was interrupted by the hacking cough of the engine, and the sound made Kevin wince. There was a sudden urge deep within his stomach to grab the box of tools stashed in his trunk and just have a go at that moving ozone killer.

The tinted window slowly rolled down and a pointed, ratty face stuck out of the window. Now, when ratty is used as an adjective it is not generally taken literally. In this case… take it as literally as wanted. Dark grey fur lined the mutants face, and his nose twitched as he looked up at the towering teen.

"Kev my man." Rat-face said, bumping his fists with the boy. "I heard somewhere that you were going cold turkey on me. Now that can't be true can it?"

"Why would you be here if I did that, Argit." Kevin smirked. "Now, you got the goods?"

Argit snorted. "Yeah, yeah. Sometimes I feel like you only talk to me because of my connections."

Kevin shrugged, his smirk still in place. "What can I say, you're a hard man to get a hold of. Now, where's the gun?"

Argit held up his fuzzy, clawed paws. "Hold your horses, its right here." He patted the package sitting in the seat besides him. "I haven't gotten an order like this in a while though. I was surprised when I heard your message."

"Let me see it."

Rat-face gingerly picked up the box and opened it, holding it so that the dark hair youth could see the gun lying in a thick pile of newspapers. "And I never expected you of all people to be ordering a _stun gun_." He practically spat the words with strong distaste. "Not going soft are you?"

"Shut up." Kevin snapped, taking the box and tossing a large wad of cash into the car. "And go fix up that piece of crap you have there. Really. It's killing me just looking at it."

Argit waved off the comment as if it didn't faze him. "Everyone says that. But I figure, might as well milk this baby for all its worth." He grinned evilly, "Ain't that your theory to Kevvy? I saw you with that one red head chick. How long do you think this one will last before you get bored of her? Or she just snaps like the last one?"

The young man froze as he walked to his car. Jerkily he lowered his foot and smoothly spun around and paced back to the car. He slammed his hands against the car and felt the cold, chilling sensation as a metal casing covered his flesh. Grabbing the rat's neck he pulled the thing out of the truck. For a moment nothing moved as the two mutants looked on at each other, one with a boiling hatred and one in fear.

"If. You. Ever. Mention her. To. Anybody." Kevin finally spat, "You. Will. Die."

And with that he shoved the furry rodent person back into his seat and stormed off to the camaro, slamming the door as he climbed back in. He paused to glare as Argit fumbled with his keys and then sped off in the opposite direction. When he was finally alone again he let the metal slide off of him, it felt almost like water running off of his body.

Taking a deep breath Kevin picked up the box again and removed the gun. Swiftly he ran his finger over it and clucked his tongue. Of course it _looked_ good, but any professional would notice how the trigger wasn't quiet up to snuff with the amount of shooting most people would be using it for. Oh well, he would have to work on that.

There was slight tap on the window, making the mutant jump and whip around to look frantically outside, his hand steadily gripping the unready to be used weapon. But as soon as he saw who was staring down at him, a slight frown on her lips, he loosened his hold on the weapon completely. He carefully tossed it into the backseat before turning again to face the frowning fury.

Beautiful green eyes glared down at him as he slowly unrolled his window. The red head's arms were crossed, and her long hair was littered with little pieces of field debris. As if she had been standing in a cornfield for an hour… _oh shit_.

"Uh, he-hey Gwen." Kevin tried to put his signature smirk on his face but just couldn't seem to muster the strength for it against this furious hybrid. "Didn't expect to see you out here." He gave a watery chuckle and then almost slapped himself. Could he sound any stupider if he tried?

Her eyebrow cocked, "Didn't expect to see you here either. I guess for once Ben had a good idea."

"What?"

Her glare intensified, "He said that I should follow you tonight. Just to make sure you got home, because you were acting weird all day. We wanted to make sure nothing was up. I had been hoping he was wrong. Obviously, he wasn't." From her tone Kevin could practically feel his blood boil under her gaze, and with a shock, realized a blush was creeping into his cheeks. What was this? Kevin Levin _never_ blushed.

_Ah shut up_. He thought to himself sourly, _you know your crazy about her. Stop denying it._

"Listen, Gwen," He tried so start before he was cut off.

"No, you listen." She snapped. "What are you doing out here swapping alien tech?"

Kevin sighed and rubbed his temples. "Will you just get in the car? It's complicated. I'll explain it on the road." He looked up and gave her a weak glare. He had found that despite hardly knowing her the young man could never seem to gather enough resentment to be angry with her. She had even spied on him and he still wasn't angry!

Finally the girl tore herself away from the window and stormed to the car, dropping into the seat with a thump, before slamming the door so hard the whole automobile shook. Kevin winced slightly. What with all the slamming the car was taking it would probably take a few good buffering to keep any dents from showing up.

He started the car and they began to drive in silence for a few good minuets. Every couple of seconds Gwen would open her mouth as if to say something, shut it, shake her head and return to looking out the window.

Finally the silence was unbearable for him, he could feel a twitch coming on. "Gwen, I can completely explain everything."

There was an almost audible snap as Gwen's face suddenly filled with fury. She whipped around, straining against the seatbelt as she grabbed the gun he had so carefully dropped. "Explain this jack ass!" She screamed in his ear waving it in his face.

"Whoa! Whoa! I can't see the road Gwen!" Kevin cried, shoving her hand and the gun out of his face. "And I can! I swear to whatever is up there that I can! Just _calm down_!"

A growl seemed to reverberate from the girl's throat and Kevin's eyes widened in shock. "Did you just honestly _growl_ at me?" He asked amazed.

"You've got thirty seconds to answer my questions. Now, spill punk." Gwen's eyes narrowed.

Kevin took a deep breath before opening his mouth and letting everything flow out at a rate that even _he _was surprised of. "Its not really a gun, it's a stunner. I had a little, well a lot, of extra cash lying around and I really don't like the idea of you just relying on your powers to keep you safe. I mean, its small enough for you to hang at your belt or to keep in a bag, and I-I could teach how to use it and everything. I swear Gwen, that's all it was!"

Silence filled the car once again. All that could be heard was the gentle purr of the motor as they sped off to seemingly nowhere.

"Really?" Gwen whispered. "You got this, this _thing_ for me?" She looked down at the offending little object.

"Well, um, it's a stun gun. I knew that you wouldn't like a real one. And like I said, I don't like you going around without more protection." He mumbled the last part under his breath but from her huge grin he could tell she heard him.

The silence fell _again_. And yet Kevin was relieved to find that it was no longer the awkward, fuming angry silence it had been a moment ago. And then of course, right when the ex-con was beginning to feel comfortable, everything just had to go upside down.

_Ello there poppet!_ An annoyingly cheery voice, that was most certainly_ not_ his, intruded the boy's thoughts.

"Holy _shit_!" He screamed, slamming his foot down on the brakes at the same time, making the car swerve. "What was that?"

Gwen shot up in her seat and looked around anxiously at the dark road ahead. "What?" She asked, "What did you – " A sudden sigh escaped her throat as the girl slumped against the window, seemingly out cold.

"Gwen," Kevin asked anxiously. He reached over to shake her shoulder, "Gwen, hey come on! This isn't funny!"

_No point in shaking her, sonny boy._ The jarringly familiar voice spoke again. _She's out like a light. I don't want her intruding in our, ah, personal lives after all? I mean, honestly. You can't expect me to let such a little angel get in on our deal do you?_

"Francesca." The boy was surprised to find the name fly instantly from his memory to his tongue. "Where are you? What did you do to Gwen?"

_Nothing what so ever. But you know what, this whole talking to you and only being able to see the inside of your oh so cheerful mind is causing me problems. This is a problem that must be fixed. _Kevin was surprised that sarcasm even could exist in such a happy tone. His stomach rebelled against it slightly. _There we go! Much better. Now we can see each other._

"What's that supposed to mean?"

_Look up._

Kevin glanced up at the rear view mirror and jumped about a feet in his seat. There in the back seat where his team member Ben usually sat, was the achingly familiar face of the strange being he could see. He squinted his eyes, had the girl-like creature aged? He had always imagined her as some inter-dimensional being who never aged.

"Crap! Where did you come from? And _what_ did you do to Gwen?" He gasped.

_I am not hampered by foolish things like dimensions_. She snickered. _And don't you worry about your girlfriend. She is completely fine. At the moment her conscious mind has been 'shut down' in layman's terms. Once you and I are done she will 'reboot' more or less. She'll feel momentously better when she wakes._ Kevin winced at the 'girlfriend' comment; he didn't like her _that_ much. But he was _extremely_ worried about the 'feel momentously better' comment.

_But, that's not the point of this little visit_. Francesca smiled warmly at the boy in the mirror. _I decided it was about time that I came by and checked on my favorite depressed little mutant. After all, I don't want you to forget our little deal ay? Wanted to make sure you remembered our, ah, conditions?_

The smile instantly transformed into the most distorted grimace Kevin had ever seen in his life. Correction, he had seen it once before. He felt a _snap_ inside his body and suddenly everything began to swell. His skin began to redden and harden.

"No, no!" Kevin gasped and pulled him hands from the steering wheel and began to scratch at his arms, as if trying to strip off his own skin. "I know the conditions! I know what they are! You just haven't given me anything else to do since I last saw you." As soon as he said those things he could feel himself almost deflating. His shirt lost its tightness and hung loosely around his frame.

"S-so wh-what do you have for me to do this time?" It was so hard for him to catch his breath after that experience. It was even harder to remain calm.

The being didn't respond, instead she reached forward and began rustling around in the red head's purse on the girl's lap.

"Hey, hey!" Kevin yelled, "Don't you dare take _anything_ from there!"

_Don't worry lover boy_. His cheeks enflamed at this. _I'm just looking for one… particular… thing, ah ha! Found it!_ She withdrew from the purse a packet of paper. Kevin wasn't sure how the red head had been able to cram the huge stack into her purse but he definitely wasn't going to bring it up now. On the front page read the words "_The Time for Temperance. When to Much is TO Much!_"

_You know, I hate to admit it, but of all the human's that I've had the pleasure of meeting, this one's mind is by far the most _fascinating_. She seems to view the universe so… cynically underneath it all. And yet, she refuses to show it. Just like her grandmother. Pity. _She patted Gwen's

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Francesca grinned happily. Her voice seemed even more jovial as it laughed into his head. _Oh, nothing. But I would like to talk about your new task. I've decided that you've had enough of a break after the first one, so, here I am! And believe me, you will be seeing a lot more of me. _

Kevin groaned. Finally he realized that they had been sitting in the middle of the road unmoving. The car roared to life and they began to drive again. "So what do you want with me?"

_I think that this,_ she waved the text in front of his face, _Should tell you enough. You know Kevvy my boy, _a chuckle escaped from her lips, the first noise that he had actually ever heard her make. _I do believe that it is time you move out of that comfy pad of yours. I have an apartment for you already. You are to be moved in by the time the sun sets for the second day. Oh, and I would look up the meaning of this word. I have a feeling you might need to_.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Kevin glanced up into the rearview and groaned again. The being was gone, only the thick text sitting on the seat revealing that she had ever been there. Looking over at the girl besides him, the sixteen year-old smiled warmly. The red head was curled up in the green seat with her cheek squished against the window.

With a small chuckle he reached over to brush hair out of her face and noticed as he did so that something was in _his_ hand. A card. Pulling back his hand Kevin glanced at the words printed neatly on the front. In neatly, curlicue handwriting it read, 'Temperance. Learn it. Live it. Love it. 543 Cassidy Way'.

"This… is going to be very difficult to explain..." Kevin groaned, stowing the card into his pocket.

Stage 1 Temperance: Partially Complete

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A/N: So, I am sorry that it's so long. And also how it's just like, MEH. And I realized that it was so long that I was like, sheesh. I better split this into two chapters! I hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R!

A/N 2.0: So I took out the possession part and I think that this is better personally. I plan that if Gwen ever IS possessed it will be in an insanely creepy manner. XD


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